


Beautifully Imperfect

by MoonlightSyreen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:53:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27001540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightSyreen/pseuds/MoonlightSyreen
Summary: Alastor Moody's wife is killed and his daughter comes to live with him after 15 years of strictly letters between them. Traumatized, but keeping it wrapped up tight under a shy smile, Muiri comes and turns not just his life, but the Weasleys as well, upside down.
Relationships: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody/Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley/George Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), George Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 34





	1. A Favor for Moody

"A daughter!"

Molly Weasley sat down heavily as she gaped at the man across from her. Alastor was frowning down into his cup of tea.

"Siofra-Muireann Elaine Moody," he said as if from far away and he was. He was remembering the last time he had seen his daughter, peering up at him from her mother's arms with such clever eyes for a babe of scant months. It was right before they boarded the train to take them out of his life, away from danger, as more and more people went missing or ended up dead in the first war. His wife had been quietly sobbing into his coat, holding onto him for as long as he'd let her. He hadn't been able to find any words to soothe her, so he'd simply stroked her hair and kissed her forehead until the train whistled behind him. Moody took in a deep breath, pushing that particular memory to the back of his mind,"I got a letter a few days back, telling me her mother died. My wife."

"Wife," Mrs. Weasley said faintly, glancing at her husband but he didn't look too surprised,"Were...divorced?"

"No," he grunted and didn't explain. Molly shared a look with her husband and he silently shook his head, watching as the old Auror tap the side of his cup with an even darker frown. Something was telling him his wife hadn't died peacefully in her sleep. Alastor's whole demeanor screamed of anger and guilt. They waited patiently until he finally spoke up again,"I haven't physically seen her in 15 years, Molly, but I've kept in touch with both of them the entire time. We're not estranged, but...."

"It's one thing to write letters, another thing entirely to live together," Arthur Weasley said wisely, making the old Auror to glance at him,"You're too paranoid to have her live on her own, without her mother. I remember how clever and careful your wife was. Almost as much as you."

Moody's mouth twitched. A Gryffindor in Hufflepuff robes, his woman was.

"She's used to being in a community with a lot of people and I'm....I can't....I don't trust many, especially with her," he rumbled as he ruffled his hair. He glanced up at the two Weasley and hesitated slightly,"Would it be all right...if I brought her around a bit? So she's not lonely?"

"Oh, Alastor! Of course you can! She's right at the twins' age! Maybe her, Ginny, Hermione will wind up getting along well, too. "

Moody felt a bit of tension leave his shoulders,"That would be nice, Molly. She doesn't need to be around an old codger like me all the time."

Mrs. Weasley started getting excited and asking all sorts of questions about her, then went off muttering to herself about all she'd need to do to get ready. Moody listened with half an ear as his own thoughts and doubts started swarming to the front. Four weeks later, he and the two elder Weasley's left for King's Cross.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moody and Siofra-Muireann finally meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short. I'm trying to go for quality. Pleeeese tell me how it is! Hope you like it.

It was colder than what she was used to.

Muiri was wrapped up in her thick coat as she watched the country side go by. Perceptive blue eyes, the only thing that could be seen of her face, flickered as she took in blooming flowers and trees. She was passing the time by trying to quietly name them in her head and what animal might like to make its home there or what was more likely to come back the next year. It had been fun at first, but she was starting to get a little stressed. Too many transfers onto too many trains from her small area to London. She felt a pang in her chest as an image of the place she called home for her whole life tried to form behind her eyes. With a deep breath and a hum, Muiri forced the image to transform into one of the sea. Dark lashes fluttered to touch her cheek as she pictured the sound of the waves crashing on shore, making sea foam break upon gray rocks, before taking herself under the warm water. Dark, quiet, timeless…a perfect image that helped her slip off onto sleep.

The last stretch…and she’d finally meet her _ata_.  
XXX

“I don’t know, Molly,” Moody tried his hardest not to snap at her,”I don’t have pictures.”

"How can you not have at least one picture of your daughter," she asked shrilly.

“Security,” he grunted, as he dodged past a man trying to run pass,”In case anything happened to me, I wanted to make sure nothing could link them. Letters only that opened by a coded word, different owl every time, and signed with names only we three knew.”

Molly found herself slowing and casting a worried look at her husband. Such lengths they went through! Was the poor girl going to be just as paranoid as her father? Would she be able to make friends with her children? However, the Matriarch brushed it off as steely determination took hold. No child deserved to be left alone, even if they had parents. Siofra-Muireann would need kids her age to grow up mentally healthy and she will have friends. Molly would make sure of it.

XXX

The train came to a slow stop with a loud hiss of steam.

The dark haired witch stayed still for a few moments, listening as the other passengers started moving about. It felt...different. When she'd first boarded and waved goodbye to all her friends who turned out, she felt numb. A little sad as everyone grew smaller and smaller, but overall she felt nothing as she seated herself on the train to take her away. Now she felt something. A small, but paralyzing pinprick of fear. If she moved, if she got off this train...all this would be real. Her mother's death...how she died...

Muiri swallowed back the nausea that built up in her throat. It was such a...good thing. A beloved thing they took and twisted into something she couldn't bear to look at anymore. Something happy childhood memories had been built on! What if she made more and they were ripped away from her? What if she couldn't make any? What if she and her _ata_ didn't get along and he sent her back? She didn't want to go back to that house! She...she realized she was panicking when her body started to heat up. She needed to breathe. Once more she shut her eyes, willing the well of emotions back down and held her breath. One...two...three... and she blew out. Instead of the sea, she saw of droplets of paint falling on a hot and buzzing canvas. Each breath she took was a brush stroke, covering the canvas until she was looking at a wall of calming blue. She finally unfurled from the seat, gathering her bearings before her belongings.

Luggage? One check.

Pets? One still lounging happily across her shoulders and one packed in their crate. Two checks.

Daggers? Hidden well with a disillusioned charm in the hip holsters just under her jeans. Another double check.

She _was_ ready. She'd been waiting for this, almost looking forward to it if the circumstances had been different. Muiri paused in the doorway as she took in King's Cross. The little area she'd been raised in hadn't been big, but it wasn't tiny either...at least in her opinion. Something told her she might need to rethink that because there were more people just here at the train station than in her whole town! She felt the fear and panic once more creep up on her, but they weren't potent enough this time to stop her as she took her first tentative step off of the train.  
XXX

For the first time in an extremely long time, Alastor Mad Eye Moody felt fear creep up on him. 

As soon as the train had pulled up he had his eye scanning through all of the compartments until he stopped on an unmoving figure. He stared at them hard, unable to make out any facial features because they were turned away from him. It took a good 5 minutes before they finally stood and turned to gather their things. Moody felt his heart stall. He had been strict with letters. No floo because they could find out where it was connected. No pictures just in case someone became compromised. Now...he really wish he had been prepared. His wife hadn't been joking in her letters when she said he'd spot her in an instant. Like Harry Potter, she looked liked she had stepped out of a picture of her parent's school days. From the gentle waves of dark hair, to the small almost childlike fingers, to...

Alastor Moody was suddenly terrified as he watched the young woman pause before stepping off onto the station. His wife had been killed by Death Eaters...and now his daughter who hadn't laid eyes on in a decade plus was coming to live with him.

Aside from the glasses, she was the spitting image of his deceased wife. 

Arthur stepped up beside him and followed where he was staring.

"Merlin's beard," he said. Molly looked as well and suddenly felt it should have come as no surprise who Alastor Moody would take as a wife. She had met the woman more than once and knew she could go toe to toe with Alastor when the need arose. She glanced at the man, realizing he still hadn't moved to meet her, and gently touched his elbow. He jerked from the unexpected contact and, though he didn't turn, she knew his magical eye was trained on her. She waved a hand, a gentle movement to encourage him to go to her. 

Alastor turned both eyes back on his daughter as she started to move, going towards a column just a few feet ahead of them and disappearing almost completely around it. A nice defensive position that kept her back mostly covered except for her shoulder and a bit of her head. Moody paled at such critical areas exposed and found himself moving without thinking towards her. However, he stopped again when he'd gotten close enough. His eyes dropped to her hips to find two daggers that she was rubbing her thumbs against in a nervous gesture. He felt a grim sort of satisfaction in the knowledge that she knew how to use something at such close range. He was hesitating again, not sure how to really address her. He tried forming her name but it felt foreign and odd to try. He'd never even really written it down except for her birth certificate. The only really name he'd known her by was... 

"Sparrow."


	3. Chapter 3

The rough voice growling at her from around the column immediately put her on the defensive. Her back pressed harder against the solid stone as the dagger she'd been nervously rubbing her thumb against was out in her hand before the man limped into her vision. His remaining eye stayed fixed on her face while the large, magically enhanced one spun around in its socket twice before staring down at her weapon. He frowned as he leaned against his walking stick,"Too slow, girl." 

Muiri flinched at the quiet reprimand as she stared at the heavily scarred face. Her mother had shown her pictures of her father, the famed Mad Eye Moody. However, they couldn't really compare to the real thing. He had a presence about him, reminding her of some of the semi-ferals she worked with, that hadn't really been captured by the photos...she liked him immediately and immensely. However, she was raised to be careful and asked without hesitation,“What was the first letter I coherently wrote to you?”

"Depends what you mean coherent,” he said as he committed her voice to memory. A very precise way of speaking, as if she had to concentrate a little harder than others on the words she formed. Low, soft, cautious...predominantly Irish accent with a couple of vowels he could tell she was trying to keep from expanding with the little bit of Welsh in there,” Either about the pet mooncalf or asking me about defensive spells. Choose another."

She floundered at the second reprimand in such a short amount of time, biting her lip as she went through a list before landing on,”What was the first defensive spell you tried to teach me?”

He nodded approvingly,”Rictusempra.”

Muiri let herself relax only slightly as she pressed her weapon back into it’s sheath, but didn't let it go completely nor did she pull away from the column. She found herself feeling restless as she tried to savor the moment she'd been waiting years to have. A moment she'd written to her _ata_ about, either begging him to come see her or trying to be sneaky to make him say yes only to be denied with each owl. It was marred now. She'd always seen herself coming to meet him with her ma by her side. He didn’t seem too concerned about her silence, though, and for that she was grateful. His eye kept darting on her here and there as he seemed to be taking her in. She did the same. Her eyes narrowed, though, when two other red heads came into view at that moment. Having let the two have their moment, they stepped up beside Moody to introduce themselves with friendly smiles. However, she surprised them when she nodded at Mr. Weasley.

“Mr. Arthur Weasley,” she said softly. At his surprised look, she explained after a quick glance around,"Ma kept a picture of the old...organization. She said you weren’t in it but you helped out a great deal when you could. She has a picture of you three and your sons…”

Arthur beamed and stepped up to shake her hand,"Great pleasure to meet you, my dear! This is my wife, Molly. Her brothers Fabian and Gideon were probably in that old picture.”

“Ma’am,” she said with a respectful nod, trying to smile. She managed to lift the corner of her mouth before she stopped trying. She couldn't find it in herself to give something genuine at the moment. Mrs. Weasley didn't comment, feeling her heart ache the more she watched Siofra-Muireann. She could smell the trauma coming off of her the moment she turned to Alastor with the defensiveness of a cornered cat. Her eyes were darting to each of their faces, muscles tensed as if she was prepared to run as she rubbed her hands from Arthur's enthusiastic shaking. Figuring a bit of movement would help, the older woman beckoned her forward so they could start moving towards the exit. Siofra hesitated for a moment before gently peeling herself away and sidling up to her side.

"That picture must be old! The boys in it are already off if it was just my older ones," Mrs. Weasley laughed as they walked and took out a more recent picture, pointing to each person,"I believe Bill is going to stay in Egypt for a while and Charlie is staying permanently in Romania with this dragons. My three other boys are closer to your age and my youngest one just started school last year. I hope he doesn't get in as much trouble, he has his sister to look after now that's she's joining them!"

Muiri had leaned over to look at the picture with curiosity, then her eyes went wide as she counted them all together. Mrs. Weasley laughed and patted her arm,"Don't worry, they're a nice lot. The twins like to prank everyone under the sun, but they are sweet boys-"

Moody started to tune her out as a pressing concern made itself known. His magical eye was going crazy in it's socket as he was keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious as well as looking his daughter over a couple more times, getting frustrated as his search kept coming up empty. He could only see the two holsters on his Sparrow and they were both for her invisible daggers. There was no holster for her wand....in fact there was no wand for her _to_ holster.

"Siofra," he finally rumbled, moving a little closer to her to cover her vulnerable areas. What the hell was she thinking not keeping a wand on her person? He struggled to find a nicer way of putting that, despite it not being in his nature to sugar coat things but damn it! This was his daughter and he knew his earlier reprimands must have been a little much for a first meet,"Where's your wand?"

Muiri froze in the middle of the walkway as her mind immediately went back to what had happened to her wand. A plethora of emotions ran through her head ranging from another bout of anxiety, a hot stab of almost primal anger, a lurch of nausea, and a gaping maw of fear that made all color run from her face in a matter of seconds. She didn't realize she was swaying on her feet nor that Mrs. Weasley had steered her gently to the side where she and the rest of the party watched her with concern. They watched as her face twisted into all sorts of faces before her eyes turned glassy.

"It bwoke," she whispered hoarsely. The implications in those two little words had Moody blanching as badly as she had as the Weasley's shared a nervous look.


End file.
